My life as an alchemist is wrong, as I expected
by Marioturtle
Summary: Hachiman has knowledge of alchemy. How will he go about his daily life with said knowledge, will it help him achieve better solutions to problems or will it be absolutely useless. Find out how this ordeal will turn out for him.
1. Chapter 1

**I'm just going to say beforehand that I don't own Oregairu. Welp, you guys got lucky. I was actually thinking of deleting the story, since nobody seemed interested. Thanks to CarolusMagnus1's comment, I'm continuing the story. I did rely on the light novel quite a bit. It was way harder to write than expected. Anyways, what can I say, I'm a simple man. If you guys want a story, then I'll be damn sure to write one you guys can enjoy. Let's do this. **

"speech"

_Essays/things that are written down_

_Youth is a lie. It is nothing but evil._

_Those of you, who rejoice in youth, are perpetually deceiving yourselves and_

_those around you. You perceive everything about the reality surrounding you in a_

_positive light. Even if you make a life-threatening mistake, it would still be seen as_

_proof of your youth- etched into a single page of your recollections._

_I'll give you an example. If such people are to dabble in criminal acts such as_

_shoplifting or mass rioting, it would be called 'youthful indiscretion'. If they fail an_

_exam, they would claim that school is not only a place for studying. So long as_

_they are in the face of 'youth', they'll be showcasing a distortion of any commonly_

_held beliefs or social norms._

_Under their discretion, lies, secrets, crimes and even failure are nothing but the_

_spice of one's youth. And in their corrupt ways, they discover something peculiar_

_about failure. They conclude that while their own failures are generally a part of_

_relishing in youth, others' failures should be shot down as just failures and_

_nothing more._

_If failure could be seen as proof of one's youth, wouldn't it be strange not to_

_consider those who fail to make friends as experiencing the height of their_

_youth? Of course, they wouldn't acknowledge it._

_It amounts to nothing. The whole thing is nothing but a result of their_

_opportunism. Therefore, it is a sham. Full of lies, deception, secrets and fraud that_

_ought to be condemned._

_They are evil._

_That is to say, ironic as it is, those who do not glorify their youth are the truly_

_righteous ones._

_In conclusion, Riajuu, _

_go blow yourselves up._

During homeroom I was reading in one of my many books. The book was big and contained a lot of pages, but I didn't mind. The book itself was written in a language unknown to most of mankind. For me, it was as easy as reading Japanese. I had to learn a few languages to even read these books. From English to just some new language in that was translated from another language. It was a pain in the neck, but I as loner was able to do it rather quickly, with the help of one my 108 skills.

Summer was coming. It was obvious by the annoying sound of extra loud Riajuus. I shot a glare at the Hayama clique. Tobe, the idiot of the group, was being loud while spouting nonsense again. My glare towards the group was noticed by a certain fire queen and glared right back at me.

'Scary. What is it with this world and scary women. First Hiratsuka-sensei and now her! Speaking of Hiratsuka-sensei, she is glaring at me right now. The temperatures in the room decreasing quickly!'

Hiratsuka walks over to Hikigaya and slams her hand on his table, with a piece of paper under her hand.

"Say, Hikigaya, what was the assignment that I gave your class?" The tone of her voice was dangerous, you're going to stay single for the rest of your life if you keep that up woman!

"…Erm, it was about your school experience or something, right?"

I never bothered actually looking into my school experience or anything like that. It was not anything I was going to be looking back on anyway. Youth is a lie and school is directly connected with youth, it was disgusting how youth and school gave people a false sense of security.

They thought they were save with their friends and that the teachers will watch over them, and so they believe that youth is innocent. Said innocent would be shattered the moment something bad happened. The worst part about it was that it didn't even take much to shatter it in the first place.

The moment that you stick your neck out, youth cuts you off and throws you away like garbage. The worst part was that cutting your head, would be merciful compared to what you have to through after that. There was always a place where you had to keep in line, so youth wouldn't cut your head.

And school is that place.

Source: Me

A loud voice stopped my train of thoughts

"Stop spacing out! Sheesh, can't you even focus for one second?"

"The topic of the essay was 'Looking back on High School life'. So, I wanted to ask you something. What is this? "

She points at the piece of paper on the word. I recognize the words, it appeared that the sheet of paper was actually my essay.

"That is my essay."

My comment was met with a glare.

"I know that, you idiot. I'm indicating towards what you have written down on this essay, if you can even call that. So I came here to ask why you wrote a threat letter instead of an essay. Are you a terrorist, or just an idiot."

She sighed deeply pulled her hand through her hair, vexed.

'Now that I think about it 'Mistress' sounds a lot more erotic then 'female teacher'.' Grinning to myself, I was met with a bundle of paper that struck my head.

"Pay attention!" another deep sigh leaves her mouth.

"Well Sensei, I did what you asked. I reflected on my school life, didn't I? It was actually pretty accurate compared to what normal school life is these days." I said with a matter of fact tone.

Talking to people makes me nervous, but more uncomfortable then anything. I'm a loner at heart, conversing is like making cats swim. They hate water as much as we hate social events! Before you even ask, no, alchemy does not work on social situations.

Source: me

"Usually these essays require your own personal experiences." She then says.

"Then uhm… preface the question by saying so. It wasn't in the assignment, so you can't say I've done the assignment wrong, yeah. If you had done that, then I would have written a different essay from this one. It's truly your fault for giving me a misleading question. I retorted.

"Uhm… Sensei?"

"Stop being so pedantic kid."

"Knowing you, you would have written this tasteless essay again, but with an example out of your life."

She gave me a look. She was more like studying my face, if anything.

"Your eyes look like that one of a dead fish"

"Do they look so Omega-3 rich? Makes me sound smart" I replied with a smirk.

Her lips curve upwards and points at the book that was on my table. She tried to look at what was on the pages, however she didn't expect me to directly close the book the moment she looked at the pages. This book is mine woman, go find your own!

"You're always seen with an extra bag, containing one book. To be fair, the book is quite large, but it is still an odd sight to see. What is so interesting about the containments of the book that you are always carrying it around? Teachers from other classes are complaining about you reading during their lectures."

She has a curious glint in her eyes, but this was not something I felt like giving up on. Ever.

"Nothing that concerns you, sensei"

She wasn't pleased with the answer and tried to grab the book, but I was faster and put it in my back. She was about to say something, but the bell rang. I put the book in my bag and stood up. Before I left the room, I was halted by the teacher's voice.

"Hold up Hikigaya. You are coming with me."

Now feeling a fair amount of fear in my body. I waited next to the door and let everyone pass me until the final person left. Now I was alone with the teacher, and she did not look pleased with my attempt to escape her.

"You know that I'm not mad, right?" Oh she is doing that thing. The thing that people always do, saying that they aren't mad and that you should just tell them. However, she actually didn't seem mad. Alright, that is a big relief if I ever seen one.

"I wanted to talk you some more" She said with an unreadable face.

The statement left me confused. Never mind, either I was in deep shit or she genuinely wanted to talk to me. Fearing for my life now, I hoped it was the second one.

"Come, let's go to the office. I need to be there anyways."

As we walk inside the office, she sits down in front of one of the computers. She looks at me for a second before asking something.

"Say, Hikigaya, are you in a club by any chance?"

"Nope, and I don't want to join one either." I answer quickly.

The question was quite odd, given the situation. Realizing something was going on here, I immediately was on guard. More so then before, that is.

"You are not in any of the clubs?"

"Yes, just like I said."

She takes out one her cigarettes and lights it with a 100-yen lighter. Woman, stop feeding yourself those cancer sticks!

"Do you have any friends?"

She asked me like she had already assumed that I didn't have any.

"Well, I- I'll have you know that I live by the virtue of impartiality, and as such, am unable to have particularly intimate relationships with people!"

"…In other words, you don't have any."

"…Well basically, if you put like that the-"

"So you are saying that you aren't in any clubs, nor have any friends." Her face brimmed with excitement, as if she knew what I would answer.

"Say…. Do you have a girlfriend or something?"

Wait, what was up with the whole 'something'? What were you going to do if I had said that I have a boyfriend?

"No, I don't have a girlfriend yet."

The 'yet' was there for my small hope in the future, that I would ever get one.

"I see..." This time she gazed at me intensely, with misty eyes. I really hoped it was because of the cigarette smoke irritating her eyes.

Hey, stop that. Don't pity me with that soft gaze.

In any case, where are all these questions going? Is Hiratsuka sensei one of those enthusiastic teachers?

"Now for all serious, let's get back to business."

There it was.

"First of all, you are going to rewrite this piece of garbage. Don't give me something like this ever again. I'll grade your essay after you've gotten me a new one."

Alright, that's completely fine. God, I'm lucky she is being merciful. Although I'm a bit upset about her rejecting my hard work like that! That woman can't even appreciate the essay that I've written down for her subject.'

"Second of all, I've got a choice for you."

'Now that wasn't disconcerting at all.' I thought to myself.

'Oh god, if this is something stupid like joining a club…'

"Because you dared to give me an essay like that, I've decided that I couldn't be as merciful this time. So here is the deal; either you show me what is inside the book, or you'll have to join a specific club."

I stared at her for a moment. She stared back at me. This continued for a good minute or two. Eventually I break the silence.

"Despite your looks, you really are an old witch."

My comment was met with a fist, which I avoided with little trouble, but was still scary. Shizuka-sensei, you're a scary women.

"You should know by know that you don't talk or mention a woman's age." She spat with venom.

Feeling like living another day, I quietly nodded.

"Good, now, for your choice? It's quite an easy one for you."

Welp, here goes nothing. Let's get this over with.

"My choice is…"

After a few minutes we reach an empty classroom, or should we say almost empty. It looked like it was more used as a storage then anything. There was nothing in written on the doorplate, nor was there anything special that set it apart from other classrooms. The only difference was the piled up chairs and tables in the back of the room.

Sensei has a pout on her face, because she didn't get to see the insides of the book.

"We're here." She said.

"I still can't believe you choose some stupid book over doing something that you didn't want."

"I do." I snarked back.

She glared at me before she turned to the door of the classroom.

Shizuka-sensei barges in to the room, much to someone's dismay. The person that was sitting in the room was clearly disturbed by the new people entering the room. She put a bookmark between the pages of the book and closed it.

"Hiratsuka-sensei. I thought I told you to knock before you enter..." she said.

"That's because whenever I knock, you never respond." She responded

Elegant features. Long, flowing ebony hair. Wearing a uniform that should be the same as the group of girls from my class, but still looks entirely different.

"That's because you enter before I have time to respond." She gave a disapproving look in response to Hiratsuka-sensei's words. "And who is that person with you?" She gave me a quick once-over with a cold look in her eyes.

Wait a second, I know that girl. She is Yukinoshita Yukino - Grade 11, Class J

Obviously, I only knew her by face, not personally. She was exceptionally smart, even among the greatest of students. It didn't matter whether it was an entrance exam or just a regular test, she'd always was on top of our grade. It was quite impressive, but my interest are nowhere near academic performances, oh no. The thing, maybe even the only thing, I can say that I'm passionate about, isn't something you can learn here. Well normally that is the case.

I'm just a mediocre student amongst the student body. Therefore, I'm not offended that she didn't recognize me. I could do better, but it would stand out a bit too much. Attention means social situations and social situations mean distractions from my actual focus. Actually it might be for the better that she didn't know me, since that would also cause attention. Loner-kun doesn't like social obligations, which directly correlates to attention. Attention is dangerous, especially for me. May there never be a sketchy person that would be interested in me, but not for romantical reasons or unwanted romantical reasons.

"This is Hikigaya Hachiman, he wants to join your club."

Oi. Why you always lying.

Prompted by Hiratsuka sensei, I nodded in acknowledgement. At this point it's probably time to segue into a self-introduction.

"I'm Hikigaya Hachiman - Grade 11, Class F. Um... hey… Do I really need to do this?" I said while wishfully hoping I didn't actually have to join the club.

"Oh no, as penalty for insulting me and turning in that essay of yours, you will have to join this club. Besides, you caused this upon yourself. I won't allow any disagreement, objection, protest, questions or retorts. Cool down for a bit. Reflect on your actions!"

Having no argument against her logic, besides her childish reasonings, I shut my mouth. Not that I could argue now anyways. A deep sigh escaped my lips, as I thought about how bad this was. My time was valuable you know!

"With that being said, you can probably tell by looking, but his heart is considerably corrupt. As a result, he's a pitiable, lonely person."

Oi.

Sensei turned to face Yukinoshita and said, "If he could learn how to be sociable he might just clean up his act a little. Can I leave him to you? I'm requesting that you straighten out his corrupt, reclusive disposition."

"If that's how it is, I think it would be a good idea if you beat and kick discipline into him," Yukinoshita replied grudgingly.

...What a scary woman.

"I respectfully decline. That boy's lecherous eyes are filled with hidden intent that makes me feel that my life is in danger." Yukinoshita set about readjusting her collar, which was not particularly out of place to begin with, and glared at me.

"Don't worry, Yukinoshita. Since his eyes and heart are both corrupt, he is quite adept at self-preservation and calculating the trade-off between the benefits and risks of doing something. He would never do something that would result in a criminal charge. You can trust his petty thug nature. Besides, he's always reading. Can you get rid of that habit of always reading during lessons and conversations while you're at it."

I'm not a petty thug thank you very much. Is a teacher even allowed to say things like this about her pupils? The only thug here is Hitsuka-sensei herself! She literally almost punched me in the face!

"A petty thug...I see...," Yukinoshita said.

Never mind, you are just as bad.

"Well, if it's a request from sensei, I can't very well refuse...I accept." Yukinoshita said with incredible distaste.

Sensei smiled with satisfaction. "Okay. Then, I'll leave the rest to you." And with that, she left the room with haste.

She left me standing alone in the room.

Honestly, I would be feeling a whole lot less stressed if they had just let left me by myself. Being in an isolated environment, as I usually am, would make me feel more at ease. The sound of the clock's second hand was so dreadfully slow that I could hear it tick loudly.

Yukinoshita glanced at me like I was a piece of trash. She narrowed her large eyes as if to half-close them and let out a cold sigh. Then, with a voice like the murmuring of a clear stream, she spoke to me.

"...How about you stop standing there and just sit down?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah. Sorry."

I grab one of the piled up chairs and sit down, on the other side of the room. I grabbed the book out my bag. I could finally continue reading in peace. Or so I thought…

The giant book was able to earn a look from Yukinoshita. She stared at it for a moment, much to my discontent. She kept looking at it with interest and didn't say anything. I tried continuing reading, but the stare was really distracting. Eventually I managed to ignore the stare and continued reading, however this didn't last for very long as I heard footsteps approaching me.

The moment the footsteps got even remotely close to me, I closed the book. This wasn't appreciated by the curious person in the room.

"…It would be a great help if you were to talk, instead of reading your book." She said.

This woman was telling me to interact with people, rather than read this book? I think not!

"I thought you were just insulting me about my looks and stuff…So umm… I thought I'd help you out by not talking…" I responded.

Man. That sounded way better inside my head then actually saying it out loud. In the end, I decided to throw her a bone so we could finish this as soon as possible.

"Aren't there any other members besides you?"

"No there aren't besides you now." She responded.

"Explains a lot."

"What is that supposed to mean?" She asked with a cold tone. Calm down woman, drink some tea so the words won't come out as cold as they do now.

Now that I think about it, I don't actually know what kind of club this is. It was quite odd that a teacher would ask a student to help another one, rather than doing it herself or look for a professional who has studied to fix these kind of situations. Wait, scratch that. I don't need a therapist.

A sound broke my train of thought. "Let's play a game." I heard a certain ice queen say.

I look up and to meet her gaze and look her sharp in the eyes. "Sure, got nothing better to do."

It was obvious she didn't like my answer, but I don't care. They are forcing me to be here against my own will… sort of.

"Alright, you're going to guess what kind of club this is. I'll help by answering yes or no to certain questions." She said while walking back to her

I nod and start thinking out loud. "Well this can't be a club that requires tools such as a hammer or a paintbrush or anything like that. The room we are in is almost empty besides the chairs. Since you are the only member and the club is still alive, it must mean it is something you can do alone. That, or this club is so dead it's forgotten by everyone else."

I look at her for a second, only then to realize my mistake. She was glaring at me with her cryokenesis stare. Are you a real ice queen?

"Sure, this club is not the most known amongst the other, but it isn't dead." She spat out with venom. "You have yet to make a guess on what this club is though."

I sighed "Does it matter? In the end you are going to tell anyways or you won't make any progress with 'helping' me. To be more exact, you are going to tell me, because I would be in the way of the club activities since I don't know what they are."

Her eyes soften a bit, but she keeps on looking at me. "I suppose that is true. This is the service club, if you didn't know. Tell me, when was the last time you talked to a girl?"

I don't think the word service should be used casually. It should be used only in restricted areas, in my opinion. That or in a sentence where the meaning of the sentence can't mean anything else. Besides those two cases, it really should not be used.

"What has that question to do with this conversation?" I say to her with a tone of curiosity.

"Those that possess much are motivated by charity to give to those who do not. People call this volunteer work. Providing development assistance to developing countries, organizing soup-runs for the homeless, allowing an unpopular boy the opportunity to talk to a girl. Extending a helping hand to those in need. That is what this club does. The service club helps people out who make a request here. Hiratsuka-sensei made a request to rehabilitate you into society, because of your rotten nature." She explains. "Since you were able to hold yourself in a conversation with a good and normal person such as myself, I can say you are still able to be saved."

…This bitch.

"You know, you shouldn't be calling the kettle black. That and I'm perfectly fine the way I am. So because you don't like me, that makes me a person that should be changed. If that was the case, then people shouldn't even be allowed to be called people." I said with clear anger in my voice. If someone was going to think I was going to sit here and be insulted for the rest of the school carrier, they are dead wrong.

"And what is that supposed to mean?" She spat with an icy glare.

"Oh you damn know well what that was supposed to mean." I said while standing up in anger.

This was met with a short silence from both sides. Something I wished that would last, so I didn't have to deal with her anymore. I sat back down, since the conversation ended. Sadly, it didn't.

She simply shrugs off any word I just said and goes for another attack. "Well it is clearly that you're rotten through and through, but I suppose that was clear from the start. To start with, eyes such as yours which emulate those of a rotten fish, would invariably leave a bad impression. I'm not criticizing your facial features but rather your facial expression, which is unattractive. It is proof of your considerably twisted nature. This alone should have made it obvious that you were rotten through and through before even starting the conversation."

At this point I was ready to stand up again and leave. I could think of 100 things I could be doing, rather being insulted by the same girl.

Suddenly a certain teacher came into the room while slamming the door open utmost rudely. "Coming in!"

"So, how are things going in here" said teacher said. Hiratsuka-sensei walks into the room after slamming the door open for the second time of that day. "What is your hypothesis on him Yukinoshita?" She asked the local ice queen.

She sighs deeply and says "Yes, he's still savable. The problem here is that he is not aware of the fact that he is a problem."

Hiratsuka-sensei shrugs "Yukinoshita. It appears that you're having a hard time straightening him out. Never said it was going to be easy. He's always reading in that book of his or speaking about that rotten philosophy, if you can call it that anyways."

Oi. Can you stop talking like I'm not here in this room.

"I see. He seems even more trouble then I originally thought. Maybe he is better of somewhere locked up." She says with a huff.

Suddenly Hiratsuka-sensei turns towards me. "Say Hikigaya, what is your opinion on Yukinoshita?"

I stared at her with the upmost unimpressed face I could make. "If putting me with the worst person I have ever had the displeasure of meeting with in the same room with me to try and make me bargain my way out by showing you my book, then you might have found the loophole for getting a sneak peek." I said grudgingly.

She gave me a look "I see. So, you'll let me have a sneak peek?!" she asks with a hope filled voice.

So you were planning this all along. Damn you woman!

"No." I snap back.

She pouted, which was admittedly cute. Yukinoshita wasn't having such a comment however. When I turned to look at her, I was met with a cold glare. Hachiman took a lot of damage, where is my esthus flask when I need it.

"Well sensei, it is clear that the normal requirements to change him are not enough for this creature." She says while making a small hand gesture towards me.

"Um...you've been saying nonsensical stuff about straightening me out and improvement and reformation and revolutionary girls and whatnot for a while now, but I never really asked for any of it… Actually I think I made it clear by now that I don't want to be changed and that I like myself the way I am." I said while getting annoyed. Was this person really going to try this again. Over my dead body.

"But if you don't change, then you'll never have it easy fitting in society. Don't you want that? She says while trying to make her argument sound like it was completely justified and correct.

"No, I don't… Look, I'm going to be real with you and say that I don't want to be changed. Changing by another person's word is the same as denying yourself for other peoples pleasure. In some cases, this might be important. Cases like actual criminals or murders, a category I do not belong in… And these cases have nothing to do with personality either. It is about the crimes they have committed and that they will stop committing those crimes. If you didn't know, I haven't committed any of those kind of crimes, so tell me why we are with having this conversation. I think my self is-" I was suddenly interrupted by Yukinoshita.

"Your self is not something that a person can judge objectively by the person self."

"The fact you are calling this an objectual matter worries me more."

I was not known as a person who got easily agitated or had a short fuse. This girl however, did things to me that I did not like. Although I doubt anyone unless they are some reincarnation of Buddha would be able to stand such insults without feeling some kind of way.

"Don't try to change to the subject. The fact that you are trying is just prove that you are running away from the problem." She snapped at me with harsh words.

"Changing myself would be running away. I'd run from the problems I now have by changing myself, since I would just turn away from the problems I have with my own personality now. Before you even bother saying something among the lines of 'So you admit you have a problem' yes, I do, but everyone does. Running away from these ones will only cause others to appear. So, who is running now? Can't you just accept the way I am and the fact that I'm happy with myself." I spat back with venom. This conversation was getting rather ugly, but I wasn't going to change the way that things are going right now.

"If that was the way things were, it wouldn't solve any problems nor save anyone." She said a bloodcurdling anger and spat out the word 'save' with lethal venom. I was almost scared of the woman in front of me, but no. This person needed a serious reality check and if nobody was going to give it to her, then I will.

"Cut it out both of you." We were suddenly interrupted by the third person in the room. She was trying to prevent the atmosphere getting any worse that it was. Her calming voice did help, so good job sensei. She had a grin on her face and was full of hopefulness and satisfaction. "Things have become rather interesting, didn't they. It is just like out of one those manga! I love developments like these." she said with almost childlike enthusiasm. Seriously, is your job so boring that you seek amusement in students like we are toys? Are you some kind of grown-up child?

Sensei then made an announcement to us two with an amused laugh. "Alright, let's do it like this. You two will compete in a competition. I'm going to send every person that makes a request to me from the student body to you two. You two are going to help the person who knocks on the door in your own ways. The person who helps the most people wins!"

"I refuse" Yukinoshita directly said after the announcement was made. The sheer bluntness from her answer and the cold gaze she gave me a while ago made it very obvious that she did not want to do anything with sensei's proposal. I found myself agreeing with the ice queen so I nodded in agreement.

Sensei got a bit nervous and bit her nails at the response.

Yukinoshita directly follows up with words to calm down our teacher who was acting somewhat akin to a grown-up child. "Sensei, your acting childish and hyperactive, which is quite unbecoming of someone your age. Please act like a responsible and calm adult like you should." She said with a cold tone. I swear that woman can make ice cubes one day with her words.

However it was quite obvious that sensei wasn't going to take no for an answer. She gave us a look and said "I won't allow no for an answer. Both of you are going to participate whether you like it or not. Hikigaya, you can blow off the whole thing if you let me look inside that book of yours." The last part was wishful thinking at best on her part. However, a little trolling is more then justified right about now.

I grabbed the book out of my bookbag. Hope filled the eyes Hiratsuka-sensei as she saw the book. Yukinoshita also looked somewhat interested in the book, but didn't say anything. Most likely too prideful to admit that she was interested in it. I held it high up, waggled the book for a bit, slowly opening it, but not any further then one centimeter. I then closed the book again with a loud 'thud' sound and put it away again. I was met with a salty sensei and a mildly annoyed ice queen.

"…Let the games begin." I deadpanned.

**AN**

**That's all for this chap. Yes I admit using the LN for some text, but I wanted to stay somewhat true to the original story. I love this series a lot and I felt like making a story that was kind of different. Alchemy was always interesting and there was not just magic. It was much more logical and it stays true to its original rules. I felt like adding my own twist to alchemy, so that is something you'll see in later chapters. I won't make up BS powers, just something more fun, I guess… Anyways I felt like something which stayed true to its rules and the logicalness would be perfect for Hachiman's character. That is why I gave him alchemy abilities with a personal twist. With that all being said, Cya peops!**


	2. Chapter 2

**I listened to the reviews and decided to cut down looking at the Light Novel. I'll be honest, I was quite lost without it, since Hachiman is actually a hard character to write in my opinion. Hopefully this chapter will suffice as a make-up from the last. Oh and if someone was here to expect him to be some kind of god or something like that, no. Hachiman is Hachiman, the only thing he has is more tools to his disposal and a different interest. Super powers don't effect social situations, as much to the disbelieve of many. Besides, his character and personality is the number one reason why this show achieved such greatness. Taking that away or his flaws, would end up in a lackluster story. My writing isn't helping the story, I'm more then aware of my inabilities, but that doesn't mean I'm going to stop writing. I'm doing this because I enjoy it and the first chap to fulfill a promise I made to someone to post a chap. I was lost on how to write his character and to write said story, so I grabbed the LN. Again, sorry that I did it, I'm trying to improve. But it was fair criticism so that is why I took it up. **

After that conversation, we were allowed to go home. Things were getting kind of dangerous out there, so it might be for the better that we all left to take a rest and let things sink in. For me though, it wasn't just the whole competition that Sensei made. No, it was the fact that people were noticing my books. Normally this wouldn't be problem, humans are creatures bound to curiosity after all. I'm prove of that. No, the problem is that they wanted to see the insides of it.

This book is not really that special to me, but they are important to me. To them it would be special… or a lot of bogus. You see, in these books I found something, something that I longed for. It was one a very sunny day, with clouds in the horizon… No wait, that is going to take too long. It was my goal to forget the past and live in the time that is now.

Looking back at the past, makes people think about the good things, but also about the many bad things. They start to think on how they should have done instead of the things they did. When people think back, they have a lot of regret. Same with looking at the future. People fear the unknown and can't help fear their own future. By process of elimination, the time now is the best to be living in. I fully agree with that, so no bothering looking at the past.

Source: me

Well… I suppose we can learn from the past, something I did. Learning should be the only reason to actually look at the past. Sigh, I suppose I could stop reading those books at school, but truthfully I don't want to stop. The day that I was rejected, turned out better and worse than I expected.

You see, the day that the girl I liked in middle school rejected me, was the day I found this. With this I mean a place in a forest. It was a pretty large mansion in a forest. How I got there? I ran.

_Flashback_

I, Hikigaya Hachiman was rejected. Rejected by non-other than Kaori Orimoto. People found out almost instantly and they all came for me.

"Eeww Hiki-froggy confessed to Orimoto!"

"Ugh… what a loser. He can't get someone like her."

"He must have misunderstood her niceness!"

"He needs to be taught a lesson"

"Yeah, let's get him!"

A crowd of angry kids came after me. I remember being scared for my life, so I ran out of school with the mob behind me. I ran and ran through Chiba until I reached a part that was unknown to me. It was in a park with a lot of trees, and seeing the whole mob behind me, I ran into the small forest. Said small forest in the park was not very small, it was a giant forest with a lot trees. After what felt like hours of walking, I was officially lost. Tears prickled in my eyes as I thought that I was going to die.

"Why always me" I said to myself in a pathetic tone. Suddenly something was in front of me. I never even noticed such a huge thing in front of me. I was a bit skeptically at first, but I walked towards it anyway, thinking someone might be home. I looked inside and there weren't any lights on. Deciding to knock on the door anyways, the door went open, but nobody was inside.

I was scared. I entered a mansion that had no lights and just stepped inside. Maybe this is one of those real life horror movies settings or a haunted house SNAFU. As I stepped through the corridor, lights went on their own. It was weird, since this house looked like it wouldn't have any electricity running through it. Though it wasn't just the corridor that lit up, it was the whole house. I looked around, being as hopeful and scared that someone would come.

"Excuse me… Is someone there… Pardon the intrusion, but I kind of need some help…" I said timidly. I waited for a good five minutes, but nobody came. At this point I was getting real nervous, so like an idiot I stepped further into the house. I don't think that I would do well in horror movies.

As I stepped further, a voice spoke to me. "Hello there." It said. I won't lie, I almost pissed my pants the moment I heard the voice.

"Are you lost, because this mansion is quite far from the outside world." I was frozen in place, scared beyond and confused. What did he mean with outside world.

"You are probably questioning what I meant with that, but it's not too hard to figure out. I mean this mansion is quite well hidden." The voice spoke. It sounded like a pretty old man with a bit of an accent. Maybe it was someone from Europe or something.

"Um… Excuse me, but who are you… And where am I…" I stammered. I still hadn't moved a single step further into the mansion.

"Oh, sorry for my rudeness young one. My name Albert Illustria, the keeper of this mansion. Your location is the Illustria Mansion. We are somewhere in a forest, can I ask you which country and age this is?"

I was somewhat weirded out by the question, but decided to stay on the voice's good side. "This country is called Japan and the year we're living in is 2015." I steeled my nerves and decided to ask him why he asked this. "That was an odd question, why ask?"

The voice laughed, giving me weird vibes. It didn't help the whole thing with the mansion in a forest with an old man laughing from somewhere and a young boy inside who doesn't even know the man. Yeah, things we're looking great for me.

"Well, my child. It seems like a good amount of years past since someone entered this mansion. I knew that, but not how many. Lost count at the 150 years. You see, this mansion is special. It moves around the world, to look for certain people. People who are able to continue a certain line and add more to it. Seeing that you found this mansion, it is your turn to continue the line."

I was speechless. This guy sounded old, but he was never over the 150 and what was he talking about. A lineage that I would continue. It seemed like only time would tell how things would go. I stepped further into the house, thinking it was safe for me to enter. I mean, why wouldn't it be. This old man was telling me to continue some line, so not continuing would be hindering for the both of us.

"Sorry, I don't want to be rude, but I doubt that you are over 150 years old and that his house can move." I said, kind of expecting it to be joke.

"It is true, young one. This mansion moves around the world, looking for certain people. Sometimes it takes years for said person to find the mansion, but they always will… Why don't you walk ahead for a bit and take your first right to the kitchen. The food in there will be still good, because of the nature of the fridge. You look hungry and I would come to you if I could, but that would be sort of impossible."

I continued walking through the mansion, still very confused. What did he mean by that it would be impossible for him to come and get me? The mansion was well enough lit up for me to see, but it wasn't lit up enough to compare to a normal house with the lights on. I followed the voice's directions and entered a kitchen. "Say… what did you mean exactly by it would be impossible for you to come to me?" I asked. If this was true, then I might be safe from this old guy.

"Well my child, I don't have a physical appearance. To be honest, I'm most of the time just a voice. I'm not what you call exactly human. I'm a spirit. A spirit who came to be to give the forgotten." He said.

"What is there to give that is forgotten? It isn't forgotten if you know what it is." I asked skeptically. This was getting a bit too weird for me. I was almost tempted to run out of the house again. Almost. I was bound to this place by curiosity. But you know the saying, curiosity killed the cat.

The old voice laughed again. He seemed to be in a Jolly mood, for some reason. "I suppose that is true young one, I-"

"Hikigaya Hachiman." I said

"Pardon young one?" he said a bit confused.

"My name is Hikigaya Hachiman." I could almost feel him smile at my response, which was weird. I know I was a bit rude, but I didn't want to be called young one for the rest of the evening.

"Very well, Hachiman." Oi. Who gave you the right to call me by my given name? Never mind… "I wanted to say that you were right, but also not. You see, I do know the gift, but I'm the only one who knows it. I as a spirit don't actually count as a human being and most humans refuse to believe in spirits. Since no human being knows about this gift and they only refer to themselves when it comes to knowledge, it would count as forgotten, but you are not wrong. No, the fact you are taking this as well as you have been taking it, makes it clear that you are different from the others."

I thought about his words as I made my way to the fridge. Inside was an apple, which looked well enough to eat. I took it and ate it. "Different how?" I asked while munching on some apple. At this point I was somewhat more comfortable. I've gotten less scared and it turned into unsure from this point onwards. Besides, what had I to lose. My social life is dead from the events that happened today.

"Ahh yes, very different. Say, have you experienced something extreme emotionally today? It isn't normal for the new one to be so young when finding the Illustria mansion." He said with clear curiosity in his voice. Also can you stop reading my mind old man? Either he is a mind reader who makes up an excuse for knowing the answer, or he is secretly Sherlock Holmes.

"No I'm not spouting any shit, if you are thinking that I'm Sherlock Holmes." He says jokingly.

Alright, he is a mind reader then. "I'm not a mind reader either, my knowledge makes it easy to predict common people's thoughts." If I had the option, I would have pressed X to doubt the fact he isn't one. Like seriously, how long did he live to predict people this well? Besides, what is common to him. It is a very unspecific word, when you think about it. Someone 'normal' is a nonexistent creature. Everyone is strange in their own way.

"Well I did experience… umm… something today…" I said timidly, not liking the whole rejection. If I didn't get chased by a crowd, I would have probably locked myself in my safe space to take a breather and to never get out again to see those shadows ever again. "I got rejected after I confessed to someone and um… got pretty harshly shunned for it…" I said in shame.

"Ahh young love, or nonexistent young love I should say…" This man. Who's man is this? Someone get his man outta here. "Rude." I said being still hurt by the whole even. The old and jolly old man laughs "Well young one, going to be honest here with you. It happens to all of us. It's best to just let it go and continue on. Nobody gets better from sitting there in their past. I'm a living example of that." He says with a sagely tone. I was getting quite curious about the way he phrased it, but I let it slide for now.

I sniffed and nodded, I was still upset, but I felt better. I finished my apple and threw the part that was left of it in the thrash can. "Say Hachiman, are you interested in learning the forgotten. I mean you are already here. Maybe it was by fate that you got here so early or for some other reason." Albert shrugs.

At this point, I knew I didn't actually had much to lose, seeing as my social life was already over before it properly began. "I'm quite curious about what it is, so I'll take you up on that offer sir."

"Oh no please don't say sir, I'm just Albert. Sir makes me feel superior to people. I'm here to serve them and guide them, not to make them work for me."

"Alright then Albert, show me the way."

I can imagine him smiling right about now and was waiting for his instructions. If this happened any other day than this one, I would have ran away the moment he greeted me without actually seeing him.

"Very well Hachiman, leave the kitchen and walk over towards to the main room. The main room was straight ahead from where you entered." I followed his instructions and went back into the corridor and walked towards the main room. As I entered the main room I noticed one thing. It was huge. A multitude of couches, a big fireplace in the back with a round plate on it, a bar with more then enough alcohol to keep someone going for another millennium or something and more. Also there were a lot of paintings and other decoration. There was a big table in the middle and most of the furniture was made out of wood and soft cushions to sit on. It was quite pleasant and truly felt like a comfortable and warm living room, despite its size.

"To learn the secrets of this mansion and myself, you must go through hell and back to find it. It is written in stone that you were meant to be here, with that I will let you search the room for the answer of this mansion." He said with a strange tone. Was he trying to recreate a videogame dungeon? I mean I'm pretty good at riddles, so I suppose I can give this a go. It was one of my 76 skills after all.

I started looking around the room, since I had nothing better to do. He used a few strange words in his speech, with those two being going through hell and back and written in stone. There were a lot of things made out of a stone in that room, but also many things of wood. Hell and back was a questionable one though.

I started looking by going towards the bar. It had some stone base behind the bar, so I thought maybe something was written there or something. I did see something. It was a triangle in a left corner of a circle which was in a circle. It wasn't just a triangle, it looked like pyramid, since it had blocks carved into the triangle. an I made a mental note of it, since it was quite the strange thing to see that carved into the stone behind the bar. It wasn't big either, so it might have been a clue on what it was.

I started checking the fireplace next. I looked around the fireplace that held a fire that looked like it would never stop burning. It was an odd sight to see. I looked around it to find some text hidden behind the chimney. The text was another riddle it seems.

_Shapes and circles make the unseen fit right in place. Because something has taken a certain shape, doesn't mean it is the only form it can take on. To make the unknown seen, you must know what the unknown is. A hand on your finishing product and the right solution makes your way come forth._

"Huh, interesting." I said to myself. I was starting to feel like those weird protagonists in those puzzle videogames that made short comments to nobody in particular whenever they found something. Now the question was what did it mean, was it literal or did it held a deeper meaning? My mind pondered over the new riddle, but I decided to let it rest for now. Besides I doubt that the pyramid was the only symbol I had to find.

I continued my search for symbols and checked every wall. There weren't any on the wall weirdly enough. You'd think that there would be one on the walls since they were also made out of stone. The paintings on the walls were beautiful by the way. I swear these could go for a lot of money on the market.

"A lot more then you are thinking of right now" Albert said reading my mind again. Oi, stop that!

They all had different shapes, most of the shapes did come back in another painting. Maybe a different size or another wall, but not a single one did not have another painting in the same shape, besides one. It was an unimpressive looking painting from far away. It was small and held a pretty simple image on it. It had some people on it near a windmill. The closer you looked at it, the more detailed it got. It was a nice image that somehow had made the place feel a bit more like a home. The shape of the painting was quite simple. It was a square. A perfect to honest square. I decided to remove the painting and on the wall was another shape carved into the wall. It was the same as the one from before, but this time it held a cuboid into the right corner of the circle that was in a circle.

Took another mental note of it and just went on with my search for more. I was thinking there were four, because of the shape it took right about now. I looked and looked around the room. The third and fourth one were difficult to find. There were two pedestals were placed near the doors of the room and some other stuff... Wait a second, those are made out of some kind of stone!

They pedestals had nothing on them, but they were there. I looked around them, but nothing. I couldn't find anything like a drawing or such on the two pedestals. There were also two small vases on the floor in the corner of the room. Both looked like they were porcelain. To be honest, the looked the same. I picked up the two and looked at them. Didn't see anything special, besides the fact that they were heavier than expected.

"Huh, you would think these two would have something to do with those pedestals. I mean they are quite small and heavy, but what would they have to do with those two." I said thinking out loud. I was getting pretty tired, so I placed the vase I was holding down onto the pedestal that was close to it. Suddenly the pedestal moved a bit down by the weight of the vase. I jumped back since I wasn't expecting it, until it hit me. Maybe those vases are the key for finding out the secrets of the pedestals, I thought to myself. I grabbed the other vase and placed it on top of the other pedestal. Like I logically deduced, the other also went down.

A small spot between the two pedestals opened up and revealed another symbol carved into some stone. This symbol was a 90o triangle which was placed at the bottom of the circle, in the middle.

"So, there are only three symbols after all…" I said. I mean I made up the four, so this one proved my rightfully wrong.

"Since you are so young and already reached this far, I'll give you a hint. There are four symbols… the one you didn't find was the most important one. It is also the only one that you actually need, those others are important for another reason." He said in a casual tone. You mean all of that was for nothing!

I kept looking further and further. I found a white crayon, which was on top of the table Why would a single one be there, I questioned. After what felt like hours, I almost gave up, until I looked around one more time and saw the round plate that was in the fireplace above the fire. I walked over to it and held my hand against it. It seems like it had dents in it. Lots of them, now I think about it. I ran with my fingers through the dents, which made out different shapes. No squares or triangles, but weird random looking ones. I did find one common shape in the whole plate and those were circles.

I had a strange feeling that this was it, however it didn't have any clear markings of what it was. That was until I looked at my hand. The hand that held a crayon in it. I drew and colored in every single dent that I could find, which took me roughly 20 minutes. It almost looked like one of those weird magic circles you see in those fantasy anime.

I did it, right? So why wouldn't something happen? I made the whole thing appear, so now what? It didn't look like it would do something. Now I think about it, what would some piece of crayon do? I had many questions until I remembered that there was a second riddle. I looked at the riddle again. "A hand on my finishing product, huh" I said out loud. I placed my hand on top of the lookalike magic circle and… nothing happened.

The hell…? This should have worked. Most video games would agree, even though people aren't always to know what they need to make appear in the room or something like that. Wait a second, what was the second part again? The right solution… but to what? What do they mean with something not having only one form… so many questions.

I walked back to one of the couches to sit back and think. Then I realized that I've been away for probably 4 hours or more. Doesn't matter if I ever get out of this forest or no, because I'm a dead man if my parents found me… yeah fun times.

What was the first thing Albert said? Something about hell… Oh yeah, through hell and back. What did he mean by that, because I didn't have to do anything that I truly considered hell… Sure this wild goose chase is annoying, but not something I would describe as hell… Maybe it's literal?

What do I think of when I hear hell? My social life. But in a literal sense it would be a low place with lots of fire…

I looked back at the fire place and the plate.

I think it is the fire place that needs changing, but into what? The three symbols I got earlier were a pyramid-looking triangle, a cuboid and a 90o triangle. Was the object made out of cuboids, since the blocks in the triangle took shape of cuboids, but what would the last one mean?

Go through hell and back, maybe the whole phrase was in a literal sense. Something that you can go through and go back on… it suddenly hit me.

I was in a mental discussion with myself to celebrate my great puzzle solving skills, or to facepalm that it took this long. I walked back to the fireplace and placed my hand on top of the plate. I silently said, thinking of a design what it would look like "A staircase."

The magic circle lookalike started glowing and in a white grey flash, the fireplace was now a staircase. I jumped back in shock that such a thing actually could happen, but got excited that I did it. So it was a magic circle after all! It was a downward staircase, with torches to lighten up my path downstairs. It was quite hot in there, but credit to were it was due. It was indeed a literal version of going through hell and back, because you can go up and down a staircase, and it was hot and filled with fire all the way through. The torches were far enough to not burn me, actually they didn't look like your ordinary flames either. They didn't give off any cinders or burn the wood they were on top off… weird.

As I continued my way down, I got there. It was a giant old school lab. There were vials, materials, machines and chemicals everywhere. There were also lots and lots of books downstairs, big old ones.

"Congratulations Hachiman, you are the first in the world to solve the riddle at such a young age. You seem to have a lot of potential!" The old man said in a jolly voice.

"So… what is this place? Some kind of lab?" I asked curiously. I mean this place looked amazing, but still…

"This, my young prodigy, is the alchemy laboratory."

Wait a second, did this old man say alchemy. So what I used today was alchemy?!

"Yes young one, you did." He said predicting my thoughts again.

"Alchemy is a study that died long ago. People relied on it at first, but in the end it became their downfall. People got hungry for knowledge, which was equivalent to power that time. Much more then now that is. In this war, a lot of people died, though the keeper of knowledge stayed around. I was said keeper, a man who died in the war, but remained because of a weird alchemy circle. To this day I do not know what that circle was… so instead of seeking for eternal rest, I decided to give the people who proved themselves worthy the knowledge of alchemy and you are the next one in line. So young one, do you accept the gift that is forgotten. The gift that is alchemy in its purest form."

I was completely baffled by all what happened, but I smiled with tears coming down. This might have been the greatest thing that ever happened to me. A thing that shows more then we actually see. To see the truth and potential in something minimum and always solvable with logic. A thing that won't lie to you, only something that you can do to yourself with this. Something genuine.

"I-I accept." I said loud and nervously. To be taught such a marvelous thing was beyond amazing, so of course I wouldn't decline.

The old man let out another laugh. "Well then young master… your training shall begin tomorrow. It's late now, so allow me to get you back home."

"How will you do that… Huh?!" I said as a reaction from shock. Why shock, because a circle thingie appeared under me. The material of the circle glowed in a rainbow color. "This my child, is manium. A special kind of stuff that is completely unknown to anyone who doesn't know alchemy, but to an alchemist it's worth shipped like a sacred treasure. It allows for rule bending in the rules for alchemy and makes things that look like magic possible. But anything what is done by this stuff, is done through clear thinking, logic and language." He said explaining what was going on. So this stuff is good and powerful, got it. Wait, isn't manium not just a rip-off name for mana?

"That is all for today then my young child, you must make your way here every day after school for your teachings plus homework." He said in a strict voice.

I gulped hard and nodded. "Yes sir." I said while saluting Albert.

"Good, now have plenty of rest Hachiman, because the next incoming years will be harsh for body and mind." He said while activating the circle under me. I couldn't help but swallow again, maybe this was a bad idea after all…

A white flash occurred and I was in my house. To be specific in my room. I was tired and didn't even bother getting out of my cloths and just jumped into bed. Next morning I had a lot of things to explain to Komachi, since my parents weren't there. Hell, I don't think they even noticed that I was gone anyway.

_Flashback end_

It seems as I made my way home during my flashback. Well that event happened years ago. I trained my body and my mind while studying alchemy. My progress has been good, but far from mastering it. Patience was key, but risking to let other people see what I'm studying, would be a giant risk. On the other hand, for me to stop reading at open places would be a colossal setback for how much time I can spend on learning alchemy. I don't get taught just alchemy, actually also a few school subjects and more, but at a much more efficient rate than any teacher would ever hope to achieve. I opened the door to my house and stepped inside. "I'm home." I said, announcing that I was home.

Komachi came towards me with a smile on her face, why was she so happy? "Welcome back home." She said smiling. Questioning her smile, I asked her what was going on. I swear to god if it is a boy. "Hey Komachi, why do you look so happy?" I asked in my regular bored tone.

She had a small pout on her face as she heard the tone of voice, but then got back to smiling. "Oh I just scored well on a test today, it was on japanese language. That is your best subject too, right onii-chan? Ohh… me remembering your best subject and welcoming you home so excitedly must have scored me a lot of Komachi points." She said with a playful smile. It's times like these that I question what I did to deserve such a cute sister… No I'm not a siscon.

Komachi and me ate some dinner and I continued my studies. Didn't want to stay too late up and decided to take it easy for tonight. I had this weird feeling that I was going to need it tomorrow. I also needed to rethink my strategy for studying in open places. At first I thought my only sworn enemy were the Riajuu, but it appears that misfits and other irregular people seem more interested in my book.

I sighed deeply, got out of my cloths besides my boxer and went back to bed. I could think this tomorrow through during class or…. _Club_… and I can still take my book with me for especially that last one anyways.

"God, what have I gotten myself into…." With that I fell into a deep slumber.

**Chap two finished. Got I wrote this one fast in my opinion. I wanted punish myself for using the Light Novel heavily so I did it the only way I could. I made an OC, something which I must write myself without looking anywhere on the internet, because I literally can't. I want to say something to the people who reviewed this. Thank you. I want you to know that I was happy that people actually took their time to review my story and give feedback. I wanted to show them that I could do better and this chapter is not the Hachiman that we know today, but it was the Hachiman before we got to know the man that we know now. Yui will come next chap, no worries Yui fans. With that being said, for the people who want to review this, I'll gladly take up your advice. Though I can't always listen, in the end writing something is not a matter of good or bad. Sure some is better then the other, but it's in the end someone's opinion. I'll try to listen, but sometimes I will go my route, sorry if that sounds egoistic. With that being said. Cya peops!**


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